1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fireplace enclosures and is more particularly directed to a damper-director for controlling the flow of air to a fire inside of a fireplace from openings disposed in the fireplace enclosure.
2. Prior Art
The following is a listing of Prior Art Patents, the existence of which were determined in the course of a preliminary patentability search on the invention of this specification:
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 4,519,377 T. E. Taylor May 28, 1985 4,446,848 W. M. Becker et al May 8, 1984 4,355,625 W. C. Kincaid Oct. 26, 1982 4,210,119 D. P. Kincaid Jul. 1, 1980 4,136,662 A. C. Willson Jan. 30, 1979 3,459,173 J. E. Lydle Aug. 5, 1969 3,457,907 W. D. Brunig Jul. 29, 1969 2,814,287 I. N. Shults Nov. 26, 1957 2,707,946 G. Merryweather et al May 10, 1955 2,135,899 K. S. Jenson Nov. 8, 1938 ______________________________________
Of the above noted patents, the Shults U.S. Pat. No. 2,814,287 for DRAFT CONTROL shows an adjustable deflector utilized in conjunction with separate damper controls disposed over openings in the front of a fireplace enclosure and is used in such a manner that the deflector determines the direction of an air flow while the adjustable damper determines the quantity of air flow.
The Merryweather et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,707,946 for FIREPLACE FRONT OR FIXTURE shows a stationary deflector for determining the direction of an air flow from an adjustable damper which, in turn, determines the quantity of air flow through openings disposed in the front of the fireplace enclosure.
The Lydle U.S. Pat. No. 3,459,173 for FIREPLACE FRONT OR SCREEN shows a plurality of openings in the front of the fireplace front that are in communication with a chamber having, on one hand, a damper that permits air flow in one direction and a further deflector, that is always open, that deflects air in another direction.
The Prior Art described above and other forms of draft air controls may be seen to be unduly complicated from a structural standpoint or failing to accomplish the plurality of functions that have been discovered, by me, to be necessary to satisfy even the least picayune-ish fireplace aficionado.
My invention is most effective with fireplace enclosures incorporating doors having panels that are essentially transparent to radiant energy so that the heat associated with a fire inside of the fireplace is readily transmitted by radiation through a panel, such as various forms of glass that are designed to be radiation transmitting effective. The effectiveness of the transmission of radiant energy is vastly reduced by the presence of films formed from smoke or other products of combustion on the inside of such panels. Some of the Prior Art devices provide an air flow upwardly adjacent the interior surface of such panels and such arrangements provide for the air flow regardless of the quantity of draft air that is supplied to the interior of the fireplace and even though an adjustable deflector for such purposes may be present in the Prior Art, it must constantly adjusted for purposes as will be described below.
In connection with the volume or quantity of draft air that is supplied to a fire inside of a fireplace having an enclosure over the fireplace opening, I have discovered that the proportion of a total flow of any given amount that is directed upwardly over and adjacent to the interior surface of the transparent panels varies over a wide range such that when a low quantity of combustion air is required for the fire inside of the fireplace, a greater proportion of the total flow is required to "wash" the interior surface of the transparent panels while when a larger quantity is admitted to the interior of the fireplace a lesser proportion of the total flow is required for "washing" the interior surface of the transparent panels. This could be accomplished in, for example, the Shults patent referred to above, by continually adjusting the adjustable deflector mounted downstream of the damper. In addition, I have observed that the draft air admitted to a fireplace through the enclosure over the opening need not directed toward the bottom of the fireplace as the temperature of the draft air will cause it to flow toward the floor, or hearth of the fireplace and it will, at least in part, enter the combusting objects from the bottom of the fireplace. However, more importantly, with the use of the principles of my invention at a low draft air flow quantity, combustion is retarded, the fire becomes cooler and, even though inclined to generate smoke through incomplete combustion, the majority of the draft air flow is directed upwardly and adjacent to the inside of the transparent panels. When a large quantity of draft air is desired for increasing the combustion rate inside of the fireplace, some of the air will flow down to the hearth and upward through the fire, a majority will be directed toward the top of the fire above the combusting objects to complete the combustion process and reduce smoking and the like, while a smaller proportion is directed upwardly and over the interior surfaces of the enclosure panels.